I'm quite certain you don't want to miss this so be sure to fill out the widget at the bottom of this post.

All of the items in the giveaway are in some way connected to the book. You'll have to read the book to find out how they connect. The giveaway runs till July 10,2018 at midnight and includes:

a signed copy of The Humidity Makes My Hair Frizz and It's Really Starting to Stink in Here.

a $25.00 Amazon gift card

an adorable bracelet with fire themed charms (have you been refined by fire?)

an even more adorable giraffe

a beautiful blank journal with Psalm 37:4 on the cover

From one reader:

"Through scripture, Shelley proves God is with us in dark valleys. Her life experiences are not ones we all have experienced but are ones in which we can translate to our own trials and gain comfort exampled from the "angels" in her trials. We see God's provision for her and her family and relate it to our own. Through study questions, Shelley shows us the strength we find through scripture. In her directives for prayer, she guides us in HOW to pray and WHAT to pray during our particular trial(s). In this book with the hilarious title, you will laugh, you will cry, and you will be blessed!"

"Ummm....I'm stuck."

With all the trials I have gone through (as you may have read in my prior post) I have found my writing to be at a standstill. I understand this is to be expected as I have needed to go through a period of healing. But as I began to take steps to normalcy, I felt as though the mire was holding my feet so strongly I couldn't even figure out how to take the first steps.

When I told her "I'm stuck", guess how she answered..she said,

"Then write about that."

Now, I love my friend dearly, but I wanted to say to her was,

"Yvette, that is no help at all."

I mean, really, people don't want to know what it's like to be stuck. Lot's of people are stuck. If you're not, trust me, stuck stinks!!!!

I also thought, "I certainly can't write about how to get unstuck because if I knew how, I'd just do it."

I had been stuck before but somehow this stuck was bigger and more daunting. I'm unstuck now, or at least well on my way, and here's what I've learned. Bigger stuck and little stuck require the same solution. Bigger stuck just requires MORE of the solution, and it has three parts.

1) Embrace the Stuck.

I know this may seem contrary to where you are trying to get to but really, sometimes you just have to embrace the stuck.

If God has you in a period of being stuck, examine your situation and see if He is asking you to take time off for renewal. Fallow ground is mentioned many times in scripture.

The definition of fallow is: “(of farmland) plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production.”

We think of fallow ground as cracked, dry, and lacking growth.

But under that dry ground rest and renewal is happening. When a farmer has a fallow field it is intentional. Fields are left for a period of rest because the farmer knows that if he plants in that field when all the nutrients are depleted the crop will not produce well.

We are like that field. Without a period of rest and renewal, we too are not capable of producing good fruit.

Just trust me on this… embrace the stuck.

2) Pray

During your fallow ground period spend tons of time in prayer. Don’t focus on getting unstuck, focus on God. Let Him do the unsticking and let Him do it in His timing. If you attempt to push something forward before God’s perfect timing, things are bound to not go well.

Pray about everything. Ask God for guidance and wait patiently for answers, and don't act until you have them.

During your prayer time there are a couple things you should also consider

Confess sins: 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Forgive others: Service and ministry is a gift to God. Matthew 5:23 says “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

3) Step Out in Faith

At the end of your fallow ground period, you'll eventually have to step out in faith. There are two accounts in scripture of times when God parted water for the Israelites to walk across on dry ground. One is in Exodus and one is in Joshua. One involves Moses leading, the other involves Joshua.

Both times the men were asked to do something before God parted the water.

Exodus 14:16 “But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”

Joshua 3:8 “You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.”

Both men were asked to do something in faith, Moses had to hold out a rod, Joshua had to get in the water. Both would have looked silly to those present if nothing had happened. Both only knew what to do because they had heard from God

We hear from God through spending time with Him. You should never jump to step 3 with out completing step 2 (Prayer).

After you spend time in prayer, what is God asking you to do to step out in faith? What is the first step He is asking you to take in order to get unstuck?

Take that first step. Get in the water.

The second and third steps will shortly follow and you will suddenly find you are no longer stuck.

UPDATE: Yvette called...she said "The blog post is great but you forgot something."

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click links, we may receive compensation.

I am excited to write this Directory Spotlight because I am writing it out of my personal experience with the individual/business which is being spotlighted.

Have you have ever stood on the scale and stared in discouragement at the number?

I can relate.

I’ve known for quite some time that I needed to make some changes in my life. I knew this because my health, as well as my scale, told me so.

I have always been skeptical of many weight loss “programs” and “diet fads”. I knew when it came time to make changes in my life it was going to have to be in a way that was not “fad” like in nature, it had to be in a way I could feel good about.

Scripture says:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

In all honesty, I was not treating my body like it was the temple of the Holy Spirit, I was not taking the time to take care of me and I certainly was not honoring God with my body.

At the same time as I was considering the changes I needed to make, and asking the Lord for guidance, He connected me to a biblically based health and fitness program I could feel good about participating in. It was a program right within the Faithful Bloggers Directory.

I am currently 12 days into a 40 day fitness challenge withFive17 Fitness. When I set the date I was going to begin the challenge, I was so excited to start.

Then just a couple days before the date I chose to begin, I injured my foot, like seriously injured it.

I have been told to keep my foot up as much as possible for the next couple months. (Yes, months!)

Believe me when I tell you, I was tempted to say, “I have to wait to start this.”

I was tempted to say, “I can’t right now because…”

But I made the decision that healthy is healthy, foot injury or not. So, I told Tyler about my injury and he too encouraged me to begin anyway. And so I did.

I have had to make adjustments to accommodate my injury. I cannot do any exercise which bends my foot at the ankle. I also can do almost no cardiovascular types of exercise (walking, running, jumping motions, etc.). Talk about needing to get creative.

If I can do this with my injury, so can you!

Because of my limitations with my foot, I do believe my progress may not be as swift as other people may experience, but I’m good with that. Healthwise I feel great.

When I started this, I had expected it to help me begin a path towards better health. Yes, it has done that. I feel great and yes, I’ve lost weight and inches. But this program has been so much more than I expected:

I’ve received daily spiritual encouragement right from scripture.

I’ve learned so much about God’s plan for my health.

There’s been someone behind the program who really cares about me, my family and my health.

All of these have strengthened my faith, just like the Five17 Fitness tag line says (lose weight & gain faith).

Tyler’s program teaches about and includes fasting, detoxing, healthy recipes, scripture, and daily emails which include encouragement, and health and exercise tips. All of which is written from a Christian, biblical basis. From the Five17 Fitness website:

“In our opinion, the best way to lose weight isn’t by just eating kale and spending hours on a treadmill, but to follow the groundwork God lays out in the Bible”

Tyler is hosting a live webinar this Thursday, June 15th at 1:00p.m.

This webinar is called:

The Holy Detox: How to Lose 10 Pounds in 5 Days using the Bible. The link to register for the webinar is below.

I encourage you to register for the webinar, (I’ll be there!). If you are feeling run down, and haven’t been taking care of you, then maybe that one hour could be the kickstart you need (just like I needed) to get your healthy journey started.

WOO HOO!!! We have a new resource available which we think you are going to LOVE!!!

And it's FREE! We all love free right? It can be found in the members area. To access the members area fill out the form below.

To launch this exciting new resource we have a giveaway going on. Details on how to enter are down below

HOW TO WRITE YOUR TESTIMONY is our latest resource to help you share your God story.

HOW TO WRITE YOUR TESTIMONY will walk you step by step through the process of writing your testimony.

It comes with worksheets and ideas for what to do with your testimony once you have it written.

We're so excited to hear about your testimony getting written and your plans for sharing it with the world.

If you just want to access this resource and are not interested in joining the giveaway, simply fill out the form in the sidebar, you will be emailed the current password to our member area where you can access HOW TO WRITE YOUR TESTIMONY as well as other resources.

Now for the giveaway:

Watch this video to see the giveaway items:

This giveaway includes a box of beautiful cards to color One is Psalms to color, the Other is Proverbs to color. Two winners will be chosen, each will get one box plus a variety of items perfect for art or mixed media journaling.

As bloggers and writers we all face it eventually, the blank computer screen or paper.

Devotion topics can sometime be difficult to come up with when we're in a dry spell and the words just won't flow.

We have heard from many of our readers that having some resources to help with overcoming writing block would be helpful.

As part of our ongoing quest to encourage bloggers, writers, and anyone else who is passionate about sharing their Christian message, we have a brand new resource available, and it's FREE!

50 Devotion Topics and Ideas

This resource will help you brainstorm devotion topics in those times when you just seem to be coming up dry. We hope you enjoy it and it is a blessing to you. Please let us know in the comments what you think and if you would like more resources like this.

For the next four days this resource will be available here for download. After that time, the first page will be available in our "freebies" area and the entire resource will be available for free (along with other free resources) in our members area which you can access by signing up using the form below. Once you submit the form you will receive a password.

It has been a while since Faithful Bloggers hosted a group writing project so we thought it was about time for one.

Announcing the Christian Haiku Group Writing Project

Why Christian Haiku? Well, Monday April 17th is Haiku Poetry Day. In honor of that, we are seeking writing submission which are Haiku but are also Christian in content.

We will be compiling all the submission of Christian Haiku into a downloadable book (PDF) which you can share with your readers. This PDF will be hosted on Faithful Bloggers for download but if you are a contributing writer, you are also welcome to make this available on your own site (for free only, this can not be charged for). The purpose of this book is to share the Word of God in a manner which is a bit different than you may have done in the past. Having something on your site for your readers to download creates increased engagement. This is a good opportunity for you to have something for them to download at minimal work on your end. It's also a good opportunity to stretch yourself and your writing.

If you are asking, "What exactly is Haiku?" well, we're glad you asked.

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry which originated in the 16th century. It is a pattern of 3 lines of poetry (that's all, not so hard right?). The three lines contain specific numbers of syllables, the first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables and the third line has 5 syllables. Here is an example fromTom DiFrancesca III of http://www.4u-lord.com

ImmeasurableLike snowflakes falling quicklyGod's grace pouring down

There are many examples of Haiku available online if you need more examples. If you would like more Christian examples, there are some links at the bottom of this post.

How to submit for the Christian Haiku Group Writing Project:

Send an email to admin(at)faithfulbloggers.com.

The subject line must read: "Haiku Submission".

You are welcome to submit up to 10 Haiku.

If you want us to include a link to your website in the PDF, you must include it in the email submission. If it is not in the email, it will not be in the PDF.

All submissions will include the name of the author unless it is specified in the email that you wish to remain anonymous.

The deadline for submission is Wednesday April 12th at 10:00a.m.

If you want us to include a link to your website in the PDF, you must include it in the email submission. If it is not in the email, it will not be in the PDF.

We reserve the right to refuse any submission we feel are innappropriate for our readers.

By submitting to the Group Writing Project you are giving permission for your submission to be distributed free of charge here on Faithful Bloggers as well as on other contributors websites.

We will turn all submissions into a PDF and will send an email on Friday April 14th for you to access the PDF so you can promote it on International Haiku Poetry Day (April 17th).

This week is Consider Christianity Week. It's a perfect time to write a post for your blog discussing your testimony, or the powerful impact a relationship with Christ can have in the life of a Christian. Why not share about the freedom and forgiveness which can only be found in Christ.

I created this graphic (image) for Consider Christianity Week. You are welcome to take it and use it if you are writing about Consider Christianity Week (not sell it). I intentionally left off the www.faithfulbloggers.com text which I normally add across the bottom so you can use it for your own blog post if you desire and you are even welcome to add your website text at the bottom.If you do write about Consider Christianity Week, please leave a link to the post in the comments.

Our recent survey showed that the largest percentage of our subscribers are blogging for ministry purposes or to share testimony.
This, among other things, stood out to me and I want to thank those who took the time to participate. The survey results have been immensely helpful to us in getting to know you all. Because we have to contact and confirm the winner, the winner will be announced sometime next week. I'm sure you can agree, it's incredibly exciting to think about all that work being done for the Kingdom.

In the survey, many of you expressed feelings of "overwhelm" from trying to maintain balance in your life or from trying to keep a consistent blogging schedule "like the experts say you should".

I get it, I really do. I've been there. Why do we pressure ourselves like that? Why do we compare what the Lord wants to do through us with what He is doing in the lives of other people? We think "I should be doing this or that because they are", when, in reality, what we should be doing is what the Lord leads us to do. God has a plan for your life which is completely different than the plan He has for the life of the "experts". I know and understand that there are guidelines for best blogging practice to increase traffic whether blogging for ministry or business. However, if you are experiencing feelings of "overwhelm", it might be time to get back on your knees and give the whole thing back to God till you have clarity.

Let me tell you a little story. A number of years ago the Lord laid a ministry on my heart. He told me to do some prep work, writing and such. When I completed that portion, I felt it was time to move forward with it. So I attempted to. I experienced one road block after another, along with all those feelings of "overwhelm", just like some of you expressed. I eventually gave it back to the Lord and He told me to wait. It hasn't been easy, the waiting. At times my flesh has wanted to move it forward. But I waited. Recently a number of things changed in my life and I found my schedule opening up some. I asked the Lord for guidance in moving forward and He said "now".

Around this same time, I saw that Faithful Bloggers was up for sale. My husband and I felt it fit well within the plans the Lord was showing me, so I contacted Tishia (the prior owner). I have to tell you God is not only an amazing connector of people, but when you wait for His "now", those feelings of overwhelm are greatly reduced. There have definitely been frustrations (glitches with the transfer of ownership, etc.), but I can beyond a shadow of a doubt see the Lord at work.

I'm telling you this to encourage you in your blogging ministry or business, but that's the point, it's YOUR blogging journey, no one else's. Maybe the expert you're reading says you should be posting daily, or 3 times a week but after prayer God tells you 1 time, then 1 time it should be. Don't try to be someone else, be who God created you to be. You are incredible, unique and have your own story to tell the world. It's your story, tell it in your own way. Be yourself. If God can part water, heal the lame, and drive out the powers of darkness, then He can certainly use your once a week posting schedule to do mighty things.

When the timing is right to move your project forward, you can find many resources here at Faithful Bloggers to help guide you and teach techniques for driving traffic, or increasing followers, etc. These materials are meant to assist you in your Kingdom work. We hope you find them useful on your journey.

Where are you on your blogging journey, clarity or overwhelm? How is the Lord directing you today?

Writing on a regular basis isn’t always easy. Coming up with the words you want to use to convey your message isn’t always easy. Sharing God’s Word and His message of salvation and love isn’t always easy. When you put writing and sharing God’s message together through devotions, it isn’t always easy.

How to Write a Devotion- Be Prayerful

Writing devotions is a very precious and important task. Anyone who reads your devotional should be able to find the love of Christ of in it and reading your devotional might be the only time they see an example of that kind of love. That is why we must be prayerful when writing devotions!

Before you put pen to paper, or rather, start typing, pray. Ask God to tell you what He would have you to write about. What message does He want you to impart? Be mindful of what comes to mind as you are praying. Does a particular person come to mind with a specific issue? Does a specific verse pop into your head?

Listen. He will tell you what to write.

Praying before you start writing a devotion will make it so much easier to actual write the devotion. But that is not where you stop praying.

You need to be prayerful throughout the entire process – before you write, while your write, during the editing and proofreading stage, throughout marketing, etc…

Remember that once you publish your devotion, whether it is on your blog, as an ebook on Kindle or in PDF format, or as a physical book, your job isn’t done.

Be prayerful for your readers. Pray that your readers will receive the comfort, love, and encourage that you intended when you wrote the devotion. Be prayerful that your devotion will touch at least one life for the glory of God.

Being prayerful is something so simple that is it often the one step that is forgotten. Next time you decide write a devotion, don’t forget!

As Christian bloggers we should always strive to be a witness online. One way to do so is by sharing your personal testimony about how you came to know Christ and the impact it made in your life. I’ve written a couple posts already about sharing your testimony online.

Sharing your testimony, which often includes the admittance of sins you would rather forget, can be a hard thing to do. Your relationship with Christ is a very personal thing – a heart and soul bearing thing. It’s hard to convey that type of relationship in a written post, video or podcast but as Christians it’s important that we share it.

By sharing our testimony we are being a witness to the love and power of Christ. We are being a witness to the glory of God and the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can provide. Sharing these things can never be a bad thing but can only touch the lives of others.

The purpose of sharing your testimony isn’t solely to reach others either. It also serves as a reminder to yourself of how you used to be and how you are now – the difference between the old man and the new (Ephesians 4:22-24). It’s for those times that we become backslidden and we can see the love of Christ regardless of what sins we may have committed.

Have you shared your testimony online? If so, leave a link. I’m writing mine to publish over at Faithful Devotions and will leave a link in the comments section as soon as it is published.

If you need help writing your testimony we have a guide which will walk you step by step through the process. "How to Write Your Testimony" can be found free in the members area. You will receive a password to the members area via email when you submit the form below.

If you're writing a blog that is dedicated to your faith but you rarely talk about your faith or have never shared your testimony, then it can create a feeling of disconnection from you and your audience, which is the last thing you want. Sometimes when outsiders look at people of faith they get the idea we're perfect or think that we are perfect. So, the best way to get that connection of trust with you and your readers is to share your testimony. Creates a connection -- By sharing your testimony you create a connection with others who share your path, or who are on that path now. It makes people feel connected to your life and feel like they can have what you have too.

Humanizes your life -- At times we appear strange to the outside world. It's good to face that we are not perfect and never will be. We strive to be perfect like Jesus, but we often fall short, but that's okay because He picks us up and we continue on.

Promotes trust -- When you share your testimony you'll create a trusting environment for others to share their story too. In addition you'll probably touch someone who has not made a decision yet about spiritual matters and your story might encourage them.

Gives hope -- Your testimony gives hope to everyone who reads it. Even if your testimony is not that exciting (to you) it will be encouraging and hopeful to someone who reads it.

Even those of you who have known God your entire lives have a story to tell, everyone has a testimony to share. Whether it was a lifelong journey, or a moment in time that tested our faith, you have a story that can be shared with many people to create that connection, promote trust, and give hope to others. We are called to share our story by God, and today we are blessed with ways in which to do this that did not exist in the past. Today, you can stay home, and share from your computer on your blog. What could be better than that?

If you would like help writing your testimony check out our guide "How to Write Your Testimony", it's available for free in our members area. It will walk you step by step through the process of writing your testimony. If you'd like to access the members area simply fill out the form below and you will be emailed a password.

P.S. If you have shared your testimony on your blog, please leave your link in the comments. I would love to come read it.

Writing a devotion can offer hope to your readers and inspire them in a way that lectures or plain articles, may not. A devotional is a very well thought out piece about one very minute topic usually focusing on a particular spiritual lesson.

Writing devotionals does not have to be difficult, there are many steps you can take to calm yourself down, get centered and write what God wants you to write.

Yes! There is something already inside you that God wants you to say. You just have to open your heart to the Holy Spirit, and listen.

Be prayerful -- Before you put pen to paper, or rather, start typing, pray. Ask God to tell you what He would have you to write about. What message does He want you to impart? Be mindful of what comes to mind as you are praying. Does a particular person come to mind with a specific issue? Does a specific verse pop into your head? Listen. He will tell you what to write.

Pick one topic -- After intensely praying about what to write, pick one topic that comes to mind and be very focused on that one topic. It is easy to get carried away writing with all the ideas that will come to you!

Keep it short -- Your devotional should be no more than one page, or 500 words. But it is even better if it's less than 500 words, shoot for 250 words to keep yourself focused on one small laser targeted topic. This will also help to keep your reader interested and with you.

Know your audience -- When you have your topic, write it to a specific audience, this is known as your "target market" in business, but here, this is your audience. Ask yourself the question: Who is going to read this devotional? If it helps, write your devotional as if you're writing it to a dear friend.

Check your facts -- Make sure, if you are quoting biblical scripture that you not only check the scriptures to make sure you are not taking something out of context, and that you are quoting it correctly, but make sure you are using a relevant verse to support your devotional.

Inspire action -- Ask the readers to do something at the end of your message in your closing paragraph. That action will depend on what your message was about. You can end with a very short prayer if you wish, but keep it related to the message.

Be yourself -- Remember to be yourself. You're not perfect -- no human is -- and that is perfectly okay. Grammar isn't as important as your message. Do check your spelling with the spell checker, and have someone else read it if you wish, but the message is the most important thing here.

Also: Check out our guide "How to Write Your Testimony". It is available for free in the members area. Simply fill out the form below and you will be emailed the current password to the members area. Let us know if you get your testimony written, we'd love to read it.

Looking for more ideas for writing devotions? Check out this other post: